Fast Break: Luke Harangody leads Celtics over Raptors

Celtics rookie Luke Harangody produced the first double-double of his career, totaling 17 points and 11 rebounds, as the Celtics scored a season-high in a 122-102 victory against the Raptors in Boston. The win marked the team’s 3,000th career win.

Luke Harangody dominates; yup, you read that right: Harangody played so well on Friday night that his name was actually a trending topic on Twitter in Boston. In just under four first-quarter minutes, the Celtics rookie scored eight points to help the C’s race to a 34-22 lead in the opening 12 minutes.

The only person who could cool down Harangody was Doc Rivers. The Notre Dame product knocked down his fifth straight shot (a trey) and grabbed three of his 11 rebounds in the opening 4:15 of the second quarter. Harangody finished his best game of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 26-plus minutes.

The Raptors forget to play defense: In the first half, the Celtics shot almost as well from the floor (65.9 percent) as they did from the foul line (70 percent) — scoring a season-high 67 first-half points against the Raptors. Entering the break, only Rondo (2-for-5) and Von Wafer (0-for-1) failed to shoot 50 percent.

At halftime, four Celtics — Harangody, Allen, Pierce and Robinson — had already reached double figures. Combined, those four shot 16-of-20 in the opening 24 minutes. After the break, the C’s cooled to a 57.5 shooting clip for the game.

Shaq & Co. share the wealth: Shaq doesn’t get enough credit for his passing ability. Twice against the Raptors, he made great looks — once on an offensive board that he kicked to an open Pierce for 3 and another on a touch-pass to a waiting Davis underneath the basket.

In all, the Celtics recorded 31 assists on 46 field goals. Led by Rondo’s seven dimes, eight Celtics produced multiple-assist nights.

The C’s also shared the rebounding load. Harangody’s 11 boards led the way, but Rondo, Pierce, Allen and Shaq all had at least four rebounds on the night. As a team, the Celtics out-rebounded the Raptors, 43-31.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Defensive activity: As bad as the Celtics beat the Raptors on Friday night, it could’ve been worse. Sure, the C’s shot 60-plus percent from the floor, but they failed to lock it down defensively on the other end.

Toronto got a ton of open looks, leading to a 50.6 percent shooting percentage against the Celtics. Against the Raptors, that’s OK. Against everybody else, that’s trouble.

DeMar DeRozan is a heckuva scorer: DeRozan’s youthful athleticism gave the Celtics’ defense problems at times. He got into the lane at will and maneuvered around Shaq like a squirrel around a tree. The Raptors’ shooting guard finished with 20 points.

DeRozan is signed with Toronto in the Atlantic Division through 2014, so the Celtics should be seeing plenty of him over the years — unless the Raptors trade him away like every other good player that goes through Canadian customs.

Fourth-quarter brain fart: What was once a 23-point lead disintegrated into a 98-86 advantage after an Andrea Bargnani dunk over Davis with nine minutes remaining in the game. Then, Allen buried a 3-pointer, Davis and Rondo made four straight free throws, and Harangody buried an 18-footer to push the lead back to 21. The Raptors never sniffed a comeback again.